Ciena says fibre broadband could come to whole of Tech City

Fibre optic broadband could be rolled out to the whole of London's Tech City hub, according to Ciena.

Mervyn Kelly, marketing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the networking company, told Techworld that the potential exists to "fibre up" the entire area, although it remains to be seen if the likes of BT and Virgin Media will make this a reality.

At present, some parts of Tech City have access to fibre optic broadband, while businesses that are large enough can persuade the local provider to connect them, Mr Kelly explained.

"The big question is whether they will continue to charge businesses a one-off fee to lay the fibre or whether they will do it proactively," he declared.

Last July, Virgin Media revealed it had successfully delivered a 1.5Gbps fibre optic connection - described as the world's fastest cable broadband service - to trialists in the Old Street area of Tech City.